Alliance opposes LAX expansion

Using airports solely for cargo or passenger flights will likely become more common, said El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon, a driving force behind the opposition to expanding Los Angeles International Airport. Gordon is expected to speak at the Palmdale Regional Airport Advisory Council luncheon on Tuesday, April 20, at the Antelope Valley Country Club.

Los Angeles has proposed a $12 billion airport expansion that would include building new runways and terminals by 2015.

But a newly formed alliance of 65 regional governments opposes the plan, saying the city should instead focus on expanding other Southern California airports, such as the one in Palmdale.

Cities bordering the airport want the air cargo businesses moved because they say that the noise, traffic and pollution from the airport are too much already. Rural regions want the jobs that would be created if cargo planes bound for the Los Angeles area landed in their towns.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Ruth Galanter said in 20 years the population of North Los Angeles County, including Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster, is expected to nearly triple.

"Palmdale Airport will be far closer to these population centers than LAX or even Burbank," she said. "This airport can serve passengers and cargo needs of the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley as well."

"Our point is a simple one: We should develop the existing airports where we expect our new growth to be, before we further burden the residents of communities near LAX," she said. "High speed rail, should it occur and connect to Palmdale Airport will clearly expand their potential marketplace."

"We need a regional approach," said San Bernardino County Supervisor Kathy Davis, whose district is more than 100 miles from Los Angeles' main airport. "And we need the jobs."

Last year, the airport handled 2.1 million tons of cargo, making it the second-busiest cargo hub in the world. About 60% arrived on dedicated cargo planes that could have been handled by other regional airports, Gordon said. Such a move would have spared his city, which borders the airport, some pollution and traffic, he said.

Cargo traffic is expected to increase to 4.5 million tons by 2015.

Los Angeles airport officials, however, say no airport has yet been dedicated solely to cargo and that the idea is far from proven.

" `The Field of Dreams' argument - build and they will come - is just not a truism in this business," said Jack Driscoll, executive director of the Los Angeles World Airports, a city agency.

An attempt to use Alliance Airport, near Dallas, Texas, solely for cargo and corporate traffic has not succeeded because Dallas-Fort Worth Airport is still a more convenient destination, he said.

Four additional airports operate inside Los Angeles, and 14 larger airports function in the surrounding, six-county region.

The Los Angeles International Airport was designed to handle 40 million passengers a year. About 61 million passengers used the airport last year, a number expected to rise to 98 million in 2015, airport officials said.

Valley Press staff contributed to this story.